I admit when I saw the cover, I was a little grossed out. Pictured is a woman in the period clothing of Austen's novel of almost the same title, only she's rather rotted looking, what with the flesh fallen away from her lower jaw, red eyes, and red spattered on the bosom of her white gown.
I turned away, thinking there was no way I'd waste money on that.However, a few months later, the novel was still there on the bookstore shelf, taunting me.
Faithful fans of Jane Austen, don't be dismayed. The story line remains true to Austen's original work, insofar as the Bennet girls are still of a marriageable age, and two of the five are actively looking for husbands. The village of Meryton is still rife with strict social observances as is the whole of England. Only thing is, there are now zombies to contend with. And, instead of portrayals of vapid, mindless, and weak women who are concerned only with an invitation to a ball by a socially acceptable family so they may make "connections," we get some women of this mindset who are warriors trained in the art of zombie-killing.
It makes for an interesting mix. Not all women are trained in this manner, but Mr. Bennet, not overruled by his wife in this novel, which must be Grahame-Smith's doing, inists that his daughters be trained in the Chinese method of zombie-fighting so they may serve their country.
Mrs. Bennet is less concerned with fighting zombies than she is getting her daughters married off to suitable and wealthy men. Wealth, for Mrs. Bennet, no doubt comes first. This is true in this zombie adaptation as well as in Austen's original.
Also in both the original and the zombie adaptation, Lydia Bennet runs away with the wicked Wickham. This plot line leads to many clarifications of whose prideful behaviors and prejudices are getting in the way of straightforward communication, as happens in the original story as well, but with the addition of zombies, things get just a little bit silly.
During a dinner party, for instance, the guests are served with all the stiff-upper-lippish-British-aplomb that can be managed at such an affair. Things only start to drag a bit when the dessert is not served right away - at a whisper from the host, Elizabeth Bennet and the intrepid Mr. Darcy discreetly arm themselves and head to the kitchen. There, they find a grisly scene awaiting them - the kitchen staff is being gnawed on by zombies, who are a plague on the countryside in all but the coldest winter months (when the ground is too frozen for them to come out and roam around, looking for brains).
In fact, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy make up and show their commitment to each other by killing zombies they find at specially made traps: heads of cauliflower, which look like brains to a zombie, and a snare that immobilizes the zombie so that its head may be cut off with little difficulty.
Romantic!
The usual humorous bits are there in the dialogue, as they are in the original novel. However, in this adaptation, there are the double entendres that would be harder to find in the original.
The insipid Miss Bingley, attempting to flirt with Mr. Darcy, asks of her brother,
"By the bye, Charles, are you really serious in meditating a dance at Netherfield? I would advise you to consult the wishes of the present party; I am much mistaken if there are not some among us to whom a ball would be rather a punishment than a pleasure."
"If you mean Darcy," cried her brother, "he may go to bed, if he chooses, before it begins - but as for the ball, it is quite a settled thing; and as soon as the ground has sufficiently hardened and the present increase in unmentionables [zombies] has passed, I shall send round my cards."
"I should like balls infinitely better," she replied, "if they were carried on in a different manner."
"You should like balls infinitely better," said Darcy, "if you knew the first thing about them."
pp. 44-45 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Well, you see what I mean. These straight-faced quips occur regularly throughout, and are perhaps what readers (or viewers of the films) would like for the characters to say to one another now and then. Anyone who staunchly insists on remaining true to Austen's original writing may not enjoy this interpretation.
You'll also enjoy the illustrations of Philip Smiley. They could easily have been engravings for a first publication back in the day, except - women in Austen's time likely weren't familiar with poses and positions needed to fight off zombies.
Grahame-Smith is not the only one to take on Austen's writings, however. Old Friends and New Fancies, first published in 1913, was the first novel to attempt a sequel to Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Pemberly Shades: Pride and Prejudice Continues, according to Amazon.com, is a Gothic spin on the Darcy family after the marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. This novel was first published in 1949.
Mr. Darcy's Diary also appears, telling Austen's tale from the man's point of view.
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife continues the tale begun in Pride and Prejudice, but adds more spice and sex than the original would even have hinted at.
It's obvious that rewriting and continuing the tales of a classic author is a fun challenge for many writers. Whether or not the changes enhance the original story is another opinion. As far as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies goes, I found it to be quite funny and would recommend that readers familiarize themselves with the original tale as well as this new spin. I don't think it would even matter in which order they're read.
True to many reprinted and new novels, "Zombies" also includes a reader's discussion guide. This is also worth some study, as the questions will certainly provoke much discussion, if not outright laughter: "Does Mrs. Bennet have a single redeeming quality?" or, in question number 8, "Vomit plays an important role in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. . . Do the authors mean for this regurgitation to symbolize something greater, or is it a cheap device to get laughs?" That 'authors' is plural is no mistake.
If you spend some time with the Zombie version of the novel, don't be sad when it ends. You can always pick up a copy of Austen & Grahame-Smith's Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, 2009 Quirk Productions, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, www.quirkbooks.com, $12.95, 319 pages. Excerpt p. 44-45 and cover are from the Quirk Productions, Inc. publication.
This post also appears at http://www.spanitz.com/artman/publish/article_224.shtml , Spantiz Consulting
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ReplyDeleteWe just picked up Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters for M for Christmas. She read it over break and enjoyed it immensely. :) I might have to read it, too, thanks to you!
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty high up on my to-be-read list. I can't wait to read it!
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